Good
morning.
The Mets
announced that they are working out the details on selling an additional chunk
of their team to Long Island based Hedge fund king, Steve Cohen.
This
would raise Cohen's controlling share to 80%, allowing Jeff and Fred to sit in
the back of the bus.
The catch
is he will have to wait five years for him to fully take over the portion he
has contracted to buy. Reports are that his share will raise from its current
estimated 20% a portion each year until it reaches 80% in the 2025-26
off-season.
My first
question is are we to really believe that this guy isn't going to become more
active until he owns over 50%? That could be at the end of the 2022 season. If
this is truly the guy that the cable show Billions was based on, he’s going to
quickly try to win over the board that will eventually report to him.
Second
question is do you really think he is going to sit back and watch this shit
storm continue to burn out of control while guys like Anthony Rendon are signed
by other teams?
Not gonna
happen.
Cohen is
a New York guy with a checkered reputation. What’s so unique about that? Rudy Guliani.
Michal Bloomberg. The Donald. The current mayor. Tony Soprano. Err, never mind.
He’s from Joisey. The difference is this is not only a current investor, but
also a big Mets fan that just happens to be one of the 30 top billionaires in
the country. Tom Steyer looks like the kid that cuts your grass next to this
guy.
Yesterday
was a roller coaster kind of day for me. First came the Zack Wheeler news. Then
my Vet gave me some real shitty news about one of our family dog. And it ended
with the Cohen announcement. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, the impeachment thing.
I’m not
going to get too excited about this yet. It is going to take time for all the ‘I’s’
and ‘T’s” to be handled. Any change in the 2020 operation will not change. But
beyond that is what we need to start targeting.
More
important than two days ago is the fact that no member of the talented young
core should be moved this off season. No more mistakes. No more.
Past
2020, who knows. Would that Billions character keep guy like Terry Collins
around? Would a life long Mets fan try to right the wrong done to Fonzie by
elevating his current role? And could it be possible that he would approach the
Board with this kind of offer:
“Look folks, I don’t gain full control here for a couple of
years but does that mean we have to continue to watch this team compete with
half the bullets in their guns? I’m worth thirteen billion dollars. Why can’t I
give you, let’s say, thirty millions to improve this year’s roster?”
I’m not
sure this can be legally done, but it’s an idea off the top of my head. Here is
something much more thought out.
Relax.
Breathe. Help is on the way. Try not to use up all your bullets while defensing
the fort. We will be out of this mess real soon. And don’t worry if guys like
Wheeler and Rendon are lost. Every year brings a new list of very talented
mid-20s free agents we can sink our teeth in.
We just
have to wait the process out.
Mack. - Hope all goes well with Family.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Cohen deal, today's trade for Astros veteran Jake Marisnick by giving up prospects Blake Taylor and Kenedy Corona shows that he is not calling any shots -yet. I think Cohen would have, at the very least, gone after Pillar.
OMG we've waited along time for something like this but I wish the clown car could pick up Fred, Jeffy and Saul sooner but THERE IS HOPE and finally the light at the end of tunnel isn't an oncoming train Thank God. I still remember how excited I was when Doubleday and Wilpon bought the team in 1980 from that brain dead daughter of Joan Payson Lorinda De Roulet. So I guess Stevie wasn't involved in the resent blockbuster trade for Jake Marisnick who I'm sure moved the needle for all of us. Better days ahead and now I just have to live long enough to see it.
ReplyDeleteAlso Cohen is a Met fan and how great is that and I know I have to wait a bit to let this sink in and just hope when I wake up tomorrow I won't find out that this was just a very cruel Twilight Zone episode...please, please, please let this be real.
ReplyDeleteRemember that this "Met fan" attempted to buy the Dodgers and was not successful. Do we have another closet Dodger fan on our hands now?
ReplyDeleteFirst off, sorry about the news on your pet, Mack. Losing one of them stings a lot more then you realize.....my wife and I have had to make that decision three times in the last dozen years and it never gets easier. I look at it as the payment for all of the good years that the dog gave you....but it is still difficult to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Cohen is concerned, it could be a boon to the ball club, as you say. Look at how the Dodger's modus operandi changed once an owner willing to spend more money took over. I wish it were immediate, but a few more years is better then a future with Jeff in charge.
My Mom Julia, a Mets fan because all but one of her 8 kids are Mets fans, passed on peacefully at age 92 on Thanksgiving. A truly saintly woman, she wasn't an avid Mets fan, but she liked her kids to be happy. Rooting for the Mets often made them cranky, and some of her grandkids too, which made her sad. So I am sure she would be thrilled to know the Mets are, like she already has, headed to a far better place, and for the Mets to make her kids happier. She was a World Champ.
ReplyDeleteAs a Mets I remember 1986's thrills. 33 empty years is a long time - too long. LET'S GO COHEN
Tom
ReplyDeleteSorry for your loss.
Thanks, Mack
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Tom.......my condolences.
ReplyDeleteMr. Tom,
ReplyDeleteCondolences on losing mom...recently lost parents myself.
Mr. Mack,
Hang in there with the pooch.
Mr. Gary,
Just like you, I remember being thrilled when Doubleday and co bought the Mets. I'll try to remain on an even keel until this is a done deal. I do expect Cohen to have an immediate impact. Maybe not Rendon or Kole, but he'll be involved with $2+ billion on the line.
Mine too, Tom. While all of us (or at least most) would gladly "settle" for living to be 92, that doesn't ease the pain of a mother's passing.
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to you.
Thank you, gents, appreciate the well wishes.
ReplyDelete